Scheduling software review

Buddy Punch

Name: Buddy Punch
Rating: 5.5

Time clock software with a $19 monthly base fee plus a price per user; on the Starter plan, scheduling is a $1 per-user add-on. Administrators are free, and hours sync to payroll providers such as ADP, Gusto and Paychex.

By Buddy PunchVerified Oct 17, 2026

RTC SCORE

5.5

#12 of 14 with enough data

What we like

Administrators are free, and hours sync directly to payroll providers such as ADP, Gusto, Paychex and QuickBooks.
Published prices with no setup fee: $19 a month plus $6.99 per user for Starter with scheduling, billed monthly.
Strong time clock controls on Pro: PIN kiosk, geofences, webcam photos and meal and rest break compliance.

What to watch

The $19 base fee and the per-user scheduling add-on make it pricier than per-user apps for a small team.
No POS integration, no labor cost against sales and no team chat.
No phone support; help is by live chat and email.

How the score breaks down

RTC Score5.5out of 10

Methodology v1.0.0

Data completeness100%

We could verify 100% of the scoring data

Strongest points: 12-month cost (reference restaurant), Time clock, Hours into payroll
Weakest point: 12-month cost (reference restaurant)

Score by criterion

12-month cost (reference restaurant)Weight 22%StrongestWeakest4.5 out of 10
$1,486 over 12 months
Time clockWeight 8%Strongest10.0 out of 10
POS systems it connects toWeight 8%0.0 out of 10
Hours into payrollWeight 7%Strongest10.0 out of 10
Labor cost against salesWeight 6%0.0 out of 10
Published pricingWeight 5%10.0 out of 10
Shift swaps and open shiftsWeight 5%10.0 out of 10
POS sales on the scheduleWeight 5%0.0 out of 10
Initial termWeight 5%10.0 out of 10
Refund when you cancelWeight 4%5.0 out of 10
Free planWeight 3%0.0 out of 10
Availability and time offWeight 3%10.0 out of 10
Labor law alertsWeight 3%6.0 out of 10
Location check at clock-inWeight 3%10.0 out of 10
Notice to avoid renewalWeight 3%10.0 out of 10
Breaks and overtimeWeight 3%10.0 out of 10
Tip pooling and payoutsWeight 3%0.0 out of 10
Phone supportWeight 2%0.0 out of 10
Automatic schedule builderWeight 2%0.0 out of 10
Team messagingWeight 2%0.0 out of 10

All the data, with sources

Each value links to its source. "Not published" means the vendor doesn't disclose it; "Unconfirmed" means we looked and couldn't confirm it. Data points we have for fewer than four vendors are left out until we can compare them.

Pricing
Data point	Value
How the price is counted	Base fee plus a fee per userVerified Oct 17, 2026Source: Buddy Punch (opens in a new tab)
Base fee	$19/moVerified Oct 17, 2026Source: Buddy Punch (opens in a new tab)
Per user, each month	$6.99/moVerified Oct 17, 2026Source: Buddy Punch (opens in a new tab)Starter is $5.99 per user billed monthly, plus $1 per user for the scheduling add-on: $6.99. Billed yearly, Starter is $4.99 per user.
Who counts as a paid user	Employees only; admins are freeVerified Oct 17, 2026Source: Buddy Punch (opens in a new tab)Managers are paid users. Only active employees count; inactive (seasonal or terminated) employees don't.
Published pricing	PublishedVerified Oct 17, 2026Source: Buddy Punch (opens in a new tab)
Paying for the year	Available, with a published discountVerified Oct 17, 2026Source: Buddy Punch (opens in a new tab)Starter is $5.99 per user billed monthly or $4.99 billed yearly; Pro $7.99 or $6.99. Once on a yearly plan, you can go back to monthly only when the year ends.
Free plan	No free planVerified Oct 17, 2026Source: Buddy Punch (opens in a new tab)
Free plan limit	N/AVerified Oct 17, 2026Source: Buddy Punch (opens in a new tab)Buddy Punch has no free plan.
Setup fee	$0 one-timeVerified Oct 17, 2026Source: Buddy Punch (opens in a new tab)
Minimums and other fees	Optional add-ons per user a month: real-time GPS $2, data retention $2, advanced reporting $2 and onboarding $4 (coming soon). Buddy Punch's payroll costs $49 a month plus $8 per user.Verified Oct 17, 2026Source: Buddy Punch (opens in a new tab)

Scheduling
Data point	Value
Shift swaps and open shifts in the app	YesVerified Oct 17, 2026Source: Buddy Punch (opens in a new tab)Part of scheduling: a $1 per-user add-on on Starter, included in Pro.
Availability and time-off requests	YesVerified Oct 17, 2026Source: Buddy Punch (opens in a new tab)Time-off requests are in every plan; availability comes with scheduling.
Labor cost against sales	NoVerified Oct 17, 2026Source: Buddy Punch (opens in a new tab)Buddy Punch documents pay-rate cost reports and scheduled-versus-actual hours, but not labor cost on the schedule or sales.
Automatic schedule builder	NoVerified Oct 17, 2026Source: Buddy Punch (opens in a new tab)Not in Buddy Punch's feature table; schedules are built by drag and drop, templates and recurring shifts.
Team messaging	NoVerified Oct 17, 2026Source: Buddy Punch (opens in a new tab)Automatic alerts and reminders about punches and schedule changes, plus punch and schedule notes; no team chat is listed.
Labor law alerts	Overtime and break alertsVerified Oct 17, 2026Source: Buddy Punch (opens in a new tab)Break compliance is a Pro feature; overtime is calculated automatically on every plan. No predictive scheduling (fair workweek) rules are documented.

Time clock and attendance
Data point	Value
Time clock	Included in the comparable planVerified Oct 17, 2026Source: Buddy Punch (opens in a new tab)
Ways to clock in	Phone app, Web browser, Shared tablet or kioskVerified Oct 17, 2026Source: Buddy Punch (opens in a new tab)Phone app and web on Starter; the PIN kiosk, QR codes and Face ID (iPad) need Pro.
Location check (GPS or geofence)	YesVerified Oct 17, 2026Source: Buddy Punch (opens in a new tab)Starter records GPS coordinates on each punch; geofences that restrict punches are a Pro feature.
Photo at clock-in	YesVerified Oct 17, 2026Source: Buddy Punch (opens in a new tab)Pro plan and up.
Breaks and overtime on timesheets	YesVerified Oct 17, 2026Source: Buddy Punch (opens in a new tab)Automatic overtime calculations and automatic break deductions on timesheets.
Tip pooling and payouts	Not offeredVerified Oct 17, 2026Source: Buddy Punch (opens in a new tab)No tip feature in Buddy Punch's plan comparison.

POS and payroll
Data point	Value
POS systems it connects to	Verified Oct 17, 2026Source: Buddy Punch (opens in a new tab)Its integrations page lists payroll and accounting systems, Zapier and an API, but no POS.
POS that send sales	Verified Oct 17, 2026Source: Buddy Punch (opens in a new tab)
POS that send clock-ins or employees	Verified Oct 17, 2026Source: Buddy Punch (opens in a new tab)
Getting hours into payroll	Hours sync to payroll providersVerified Oct 17, 2026Source: Buddy Punch (opens in a new tab)Included from Starter. Buddy Punch also sells its own payroll for $49 a month plus $8 per user.
Payroll providers it connects to	ADP, Gusto, Paychex, QuickBooks Payroll, Rippling, Paylocity, Paycor, OthersVerified Oct 17, 2026Source: Buddy Punch (opens in a new tab)ADP Workforce Now; QuickBooks Online and Desktop (live sync of hours). Others include Deluxe, iSolved, Justworks, SurePayroll, TriNet, Wagepoint and Workday.
Several locations in one account	YesVerified Oct 17, 2026Source: Buddy Punch (opens in a new tab)

Contract and exit
Data point	Value
Initial term	Month to monthVerified Oct 17, 2026Source: Buddy Punch (opens in a new tab)Month to month on monthly billing (terms §2(b)).
Automatic renewal	1 monthVerified Oct 17, 2026Source: Buddy Punch (opens in a new tab)
Notice to avoid renewal	0 daysVerified Oct 17, 2026Source: Buddy Punch Help Center (opens in a new tab)An administrator cancels from Settings > Billing; the account works until the period already paid ends.
Refund when you cancel	Only in some cases (for example, early in an annual plan)Verified Oct 17, 2026Source: Buddy Punch (opens in a new tab)Full refund only within 72 hours of signing up monthly (30 days on a yearly plan). After that, terms §2(b): no refunds or credits for partial months.
Leaving early	No fee to cancel; the month already paid isn't refunded, except a full refund within 72 hours of signing up.Verified Oct 17, 2026Source: Buddy Punch (opens in a new tab)
Right to raise prices	Terms §2(a): Buddy Punch can change its fees with at least 30 days' notice.Verified Oct 17, 2026Source: Buddy Punch (opens in a new tab)
Your records when you leave	You can download them yourselfVerified Oct 17, 2026Source: Buddy Punch (opens in a new tab)Download your reports (CSV, Excel or PDF) before you cancel. Buddy Punch's pages disagree on what happens next: the pricing FAQ says data is deleted, the help article says it's kept, and terms §9(c) allow deletion 30 days after service ends.

Support
Data point	Value
Phone support	NoVerified Oct 17, 2026Source: Buddy Punch (opens in a new tab)Support is by live chat and email; phone is listed only for sales and press, by appointment.
Live chat support	YesVerified Oct 17, 2026Source: Buddy Punch (opens in a new tab)
Live support hours a week	UnconfirmedVerified Oct 17, 2026Source: Buddy Punch (opens in a new tab)Buddy Punch doesn't publish support hours.

Language
Data point	Value
Employee app in Spanish	Partly (some platforms or screens)Verified Oct 17, 2026Source: Buddy Punch Help Center (opens in a new tab)The mobile app has a language selector (most prompts in Spanish). The web app has no language selector; Buddy Punch tells employees to use the browser's translation.
Manager dashboard in Spanish	UnconfirmedVerified Oct 17, 2026Source: Buddy Punch Help Center (opens in a new tab)The employee article mentions a separate administrator article that we couldn't find in the help center.
Help articles in Spanish	NoVerified Oct 17, 2026Source: Buddy Punch Help Center (opens in a new tab)The Spanish section of the help center is empty; the Spanish how-to guides are written in English.
Website in Spanish for the US	NoVerified Oct 17, 2026Source: Buddy Punch (opens in a new tab)buddypunch.com has no Spanish version (the /es path returns 404).

More about Buddy Punch

How we score